Gamer's Thumb: Paying homage to a video game of yesteryear

"Mega Man X4" was one of a series of games released on PlayStation. The game continues Mega Man's quest to defeat new robotic threats in different worlds.

It's bound to happen; we wait and obsess over the latest games.

This is easy to do, but while on my vacation this past week, I had time to clean house and revisit some old memories.

In a neat row at the bottom of our video game shelf is the games of the first PlayStation - games that have been gathering dust but at one point gave us such joy.

Enter "Mega Man" - an old game that began with Nintendo and, unfortunately, never went further than the PlayStation 2, save for the Nintendo DS.

I picked up "Mega Man X4" and popped the CD into the console. Our PlayStation whirred to life like a monster being awakened once again.

The premise of the series, if you haven't played it, is about an android called Rock. He becomes the robot Mega Man to battle many of the main antagonist's robotic threats.

It's a simple premise, really. These side-scrolling games were addictive as a child, and I found myself just as addicted this past week.

I took to the controls, which didn't even allow analog use (talk about old school). I forgot how difficult the games were, and I died many times before even getting through one world.

This got me wondering: What would it be like if some of our favorites were remastered or reimagined into high-definition versions for today's gaming consoles?

For the sake of this column, I'll focus on Capcom's "Mega Man," which to date has had nearly 50 games released over several systems but no real recent systems.

Most of the series was spawned in the '90s and early 2000s. Some other added installations of the robotic hero have also surfaced but none worthy of the notoriety the series once had - in my opinion, at least.

Creators had their hand at making "Mega Man" transcendent into today's generation of video gaming - a more role-playing game style - with the release of "Mega Man Legends," which was a success.

Still, this gamer since childhood would like to see this game and many others come back with a vengeance.

Imagine what the graphics for this game would look like with the advances we've seen in systems like Xbox 360, Xbox One and PlayStation 3 and 4?

I say it would look pretty amazing. I encourage you to really revisit some of your old favorites and remember what it was like back in the day.

What favorite video game would you like to see remastered? Contact J.R. at 361-580-6504, jrortega@vicad.com or follow him on twitter @j_r_ortega.

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Games that deserve a remake

Here is a list of games I think would great to see remastered.

• "Final Fantasy VII" - Perhaps one of the most popular Final Fantasy storylines ever written, this game packs a lot of plot punch but falls short in the graphics department by today's standards. The game and its main protagonists still have a huge following, and an HD remake would likely sell fast.

• "The Legend of Dragoon" - A game that could have easily rivaled the "Final Fantasy" series had hours of gameplay with a compelling story. While the game was successful in its own right, the game's creator, Sony, let the story end with the first and only installment of the game. Online forums have some people asking for it to be brought back.

• "Bloody Roar" - Yes, this is just another fighting game, much like "Street Fighter," but this was quite a hit back when it was released in 1998. Having it reimagined with the power fighting style it was known for would be amazing to see.

• "Super Mario Bros." 1,2 and 3 - This probably is not fair to put in here, but, hey, I'm an '80s kid. Sure, the Mario franchise is still very strong, but these games were the best, and I almost hesitate putting them on here. It would be interesting to see them keep the side-scrolling gameplay with HD graphics. Let's face it though; sometimes, old school is just best.